Militia members accused of targeting Somalis to stand trial

WICHITA, Kan. | Three members of a militia group are set to stand trial on charges alleging they were plotting to bomb a mosque and a southwestern Kansas apartment complex where Somali refugees live.

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FILE - This Oct. 14, 2016 photo provided by the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office in Wichita, Kan., shows Curtis Allen. Allen is one of three members of a militia group are set to stand trial on charges alleging they were plotting to bomb a mosque and a southwestern Kansas apartment complex IN 2016 where Somali refugees live. Gavin Wright, Patrick Stein and Allen have pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. Their trial is scheduled to start Tuesday, March 20, 2017 in Wichita. (Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office via AP File)

FILE - This Oct. 14, 2016 booking photo provided by the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office in Wichita, Kan., shows Patrick Eugene Stein. Stein is one of three members of a militia group are set to stand trial on charges alleging they were plotting to bomb a mosque and a southwestern Kansas apartment complex IN 2016 where Somali refugees live. Gavin Wright, Stein and Curtis Allen have pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. Their trial is scheduled to start Tuesday, March 20, 2017 in Wichita. (Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office via AP File)

FILE - This Oct. 14, 2016 photo provided by the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office shows Gavin Wright. Wright is one of three members of a militia group are set to stand trial on charges alleging they were plotting to bomb a mosque and a southwestern Kansas apartment complex IN 2016 where Somali refugees live. Wright, Eugene Stein. and Curtis Allen have pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. Their trial is scheduled to start Tuesday, March 20, 2017 in Wichita. (Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office via AP File)

Gavin Wright, Patrick Stein and Curtis Allen have pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a possible sentence of life in prison. Their trial is scheduled to start Tuesday in Wichita.

Prosecutors say a fourth militia member tipped off federal authorities after becoming alarmed by the escalating talk of violence and later agreed to wear a wire as a paid informant. The government’s case features months of profanity-laced recordings in which militia members discussed plans and referred to the Somalis as “cockroaches.”